Retired Sgt Kotel: Info ‘Very Important For Safety and Security’ Left Out of Intel Assessments

7 Oct 2015

Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class William Kotel stated that “critical information” that was “very important for safety and security” was left out of intelligence assessments in an interview with his attorney during his court martial on Wednesday’s “Hannity” on the Fox News Channel.

Kotel said, “They left key information out of intelligence assessments, such as attacks. The idea was that ISIS — or, excuse me, al Qaeda was decimated, and so therefore it wasn’t part of the threat analysis that should be submitted higher.”

When asked if omitting such information put servicemen and women in jeopardy, Kotel answered, “Well, it’s critical information, and it’s very important for safety and security, yes.”

Kotel answered a question on whether the omission of such information was a contributing factor the fall of cities in Iraq with, “Well, i think it would be a part of a contributing factor. The issues that the chain of command and higher don’t see a clear picture if we leave intelligence out, especially about attacks, and any kind of Sunni radicals or al Qaeda issues that are left out, when they’re attacking.”